


The Paint Thief

by Gocholuv



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Ink has no Soul, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Racism, You're An Artist, bitties are basically designer pets, ink needs to eat paint to feel emotion, is this how you tag? Prolly not, male karen in the first chapter, monster racism, oh well, this was supposed to be a oneshot, uhhhhh, why yes hello welcome to the trash heap, yeah....sorry not sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:47:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29711871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gocholuv/pseuds/Gocholuv
Summary: You're an artist who's just received a commission to paint a mural for your tiny hometown! You're gonna need lots of paint for that.Tasty, tasty paint...Wait, what?A universe where Bittybones are manufactured and sold as designer pets. One seems to look and act a little different than the rest.*AU IS NOT MINE, IT BELONGS TO FUCKEN-CRYBABY ON TUMBLR*
Relationships: Sans/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	The Paint Thief

**Author's Note:**

> Hemlo everyone! This was supposed to be a stupid little oneshot, but eh. I ended up writing too much for one scene by my standards and voila, a first chapter.
> 
> So my computer crashed like three times trying to post this story. Looks like reset four is the winner!
> 
> Bit of a warning, there is a male Karen in the first chapter, so be mindful of that. I think writing him made me so tired I couldn't keep writing this as a long oneshot, so chapter it is. As always, let me know what you think!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You need more color.

The wall of paints stood before you on the shelves, unopened and begging to be used. As your eyes swept over the dozens of different shades and pigments, you felt like a newbie again, so nervous about picking exactly the right color. You had been here so many times before for your own personal projects and commissions, but this time felt so much different.

This time, your art had been requested by the _mayor._

When he had called you last week asking if you would contribute a mural to the town’s new beauty initiative, you hesitantly asked him if it was a prank. He laughed a little at that, and assured you he was being completely sincere. Apparently the pieces you had put into the town’s art festival last month had caught his eye, especially the landscape piece you were convinced wasn’t good enough but displayed anyway. He wanted a similar kind of piece for the wall of the library on the other side of town, and asked if you would consider accepting. 

Trying _not_ to sound like the unprofessional mess you absolutely were, you calmly and graciously said yes.

It wasn’t until after he had thanked you, let you know to look for an incoming email for the details, and hung up that you really began to realize exactly what he was asking for. 

  
  


One of _your_ paintings…

  
  
  


…..on a _massive_ wall…

  
  


…..for _everyone_ to look at…

  
  
  
  


…...for _years to come._

  
  
  


_………….._

  
  
  


You needed to lie down after that.

  
  
  


But a promise was a promise, and so you had begun your usual process of sketching, researching, and stressing about your skill level and life choices. This time, however, was much more intense compared to your others. It, understandably, stressed you out quite a bit. But! You were determined to give him and the town your very best effort. 

  
  
  


Now, here you were, staring at acrylics. The mayor had approved of your concept art and had given you the green light, now it was time to actually do it. The rest of your tools were stowed away in the back of your ‘rustically charming’ (aka, old ass) car, and the only thing left to grab were the buckets of colors you would be using. 

  
  
  


As you selected your colors and loaded up your rickety old shopping cart, you couldn’t help but be a bit embarrassed at the giddy feeling in your chest. It had been a long time since you were this excited over a project, and it was a nice change of pace. Your heart brimming with excitement, you pushed the busted up old cart towards the register.

Lucia grinned when you finally managed to half push, half drag the cart to the front. With a huff, you began to unload the paints onto the counter. “Luce, sometimes I think you always put this busted piece of crap at the front when you see me pull into the parking lot. I always get this one!”

You were a frequent visitor in her father’s small hobby store, always loading up with paints, brushes, and tarps for your art. And almost every single time, the cart you had ended up grabbing was the very same busted cart you had this time. 

  
  


She scanned the cans with practiced ease. “ _Que va,_ you’re in here way too much for me to do that kind of thing, sounds too extra. I think you’re just it’s favorite person.”

  
  


As she read out your total and you began to pay, she looked around conspiratorially, and leaned in to whisper. “Speaking of favorites, guess what Papi got me for my graduation!”

  
  


You tried to remember all you could about Lucia’s interests. “Uh, concert tickets?”

  
  


Her smile grew as she shook her head. “Nope!” 

  
  


“New laptop?”

  
  


She seemed to get giddier with every wrong guess, practically vibrating in happiness. “Try again!”

  
  


You gave up pretty easily, confident you were never going to guess whatever fancy gift she had gotten. “Just tell me already.”

  
  


Instead of an answer, Lucia rushed to the small break room behind the counter, leaving you more confused than ever. She returned in a few moments, cupping something gently in her hands. “I’m not supposed to bring anything to work, but I just couldn’t say no to this precious face!”

  
  


In her flat palms sat a small skeleton, no bigger than four inches tall. The lights in his...sockets...were shaped like cyan stars, and around his neck a bandana to match the color. He had the tiniest little starry sweater and jeans you think you’ve ever seen! You almost wanted to squeal at him, but held it in for fear it would upset him. He rose to his feet with a wide grin. 

  
  


"HELLO, HUMAN! IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU!!"

  
  


Uh, wow. You never would have expected such a booming voice out of a wee little skeleton like that. His eager little face more than made up for it though. Would it be rude to try and squish his adorable little cheeks? Probably.

  
  


You decided to stick with a polite greeting. "Uh, hi there. Nice to meet you too." You offered your index finger hesitantly in lieu of a handshake.

  
  


He grasped your finger with gloved hands, bouncing your entire hand with how vigorously he was shaking your finger. "YOU MAY CALL ME SKY, BECAUSE THAT IS MY NAME!! MWEH HEH HEH!!"

  
  


It was official, this guy was the cutest thing you'd ever seen. Sky seemed to fit his soft blue color perfectly, and you told Lucia how perfect it was for him.

She beamed at you. "I know, right?? Papi said to name him something more manly, but I couldn't think of anything more perfect than _mi cielo!"_

  
  


She drew her hand close to her face to pull Sky closer. He eagerly stepped forward, arms outstretched and squished his tiny cheekbone to hers, slightly blue in the face. She giggled, and you suddenly wondered if you should be here for this. You averted your eyes and cleared your throat. "So, um, what is Sky? Like, is he a monster, or…?"

  
  


Monsters had been on the surface for a few years now, and had settled into human cities with less fights than you were expecting, though none of them had arrived in your tiny little town. It seemed a long way for such a tiny skele boi to come with such little legs. 

  
  


Lucia looked like she just remembered you were still there, and pulled away from Sky sheepishly. "You don't know? They're called Bitty monsters! They're like, a sub class or something. Like designer pets. You can get different kinds, and they have different personalities!"

  
  


"THAT'S RIGHT!!" Sky stepped forward to you, hands proudly on his waist. "FOR INSTANCE, I AM PART OF THE BITTY FAMILY NAMED THE BABY BLUES! WE ARE SMART, RESOURCEFUL, ENERGETIC, AND _VERY_ CUTE, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!!"

  
  


Well, at least he knew it. Bitties, huh? Sounds goofy enough to be a name for a designer pet, like a Labradoodle or something wealthier people would brag about having. It would probably be rude to ask how much it cost to adopt Sky, but you were absolutely going to google it the moment you were out of the store. 

  
  


Sky kneeled and leaned over to peer at the cans you had set on the counter. "SO MANY CANS! YOU MUST BE A CONNOISSEUR OF THEM. I LIKE HOW THEY HAVE, UM, HANDLES?" His starry eyelights drifted back towards you curiously.

  
  


Now it was obvious why Lucia was much happier than usual; his bright and happy energy was infectious, and you couldn't help but smile at him. "Thank you, but I'm not really interested in the cans themselves. I'm more about the paint inside!"

  
  


He gasped and shot to his feet. "PAINT??" His volume grew steadily louder the more excited he became, his starry eyelights massive in his sockets. He seemed to practically vibrate in place. "YOU GET TO PLAY WITH **PAINT?! I WANNA PLAY WITH-!"**

  
  


Lucia quickly cupped her free hand over him in an effort to stop his sudden head dive off of her palm. Once she had made sure she had him secure, she offered you a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Forgot to mention we can't say the _p_ word around him. Papi thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to _that_ when we first got him, but it... didn't end well. Took me hours to get all of it off the walls and the ceiling.”

She lifted up the hand not supporting his weight once he had stopped buzzing in place. When her hand finally lifted to reveal him, he offered you a guilty little smile, looking for all the world like a dog who had just been caught digging through someone's prize flower beds. 

“Ha...Haha…..Sorry About That. I Tend To Get...Overly Enthusiastic Sometimes..” 

Honestly, you are just relieved he didn't get after any of the cans that you had just bought, especially since you weren't going to get most of your commission money until after the mural had been painted. That, and you were slightly afraid that Lucia’s father would have you stay and clean the paint off as punishment for helping to no doubt wreck the store by serving as an accomplice to his daughter's renegade pet. 

Though try as you might, you couldn't find it in yourself to be irritated at him for almost doing who knows what to your precious paint. Instead, you simply offered him a small smile. "You're fine, I'm just glad nothing got spilled!” 

His sheepish grin stretched to its original size. “ALTHOUGH IF IT DID, REST ASSURED THE MIGHTY SKY IS THE ABSOLUTE MASTER OF CLEANING THINGS! I AM MOST SKILLED AT OBLITERATING ANY MALICIOUS GRIME I MAY ENCOUNTER!” 

You and Lucia couldn't help but giggle at the little skeleton and the ridiculous pose he struck, standing proudly with his hands on his hips like some kind of superhero. behind you, someone cleared their throat obnoxiously. 

You turned around to see a middle-aged man standing in line behind you with a cart full of stuff, looking bored. “ Oh! Sorry about that, I'll get out of your way.”

You gathered your paint cans into the busted cart and waved to Lucia and Sky as you began to move towards the door. Both of them waved back at you happily, then turned to greet the man. You were about to head on your merry way to the parking lot when you heard the man's cruel sneer. 

“And just what the hell is that thing? Is that supposed to be a monster? And here I thought this town would turn those freaks away. This whole damn country has gone to hell in a handbasket! Those things should go back in the hole they crawled out from.”

You stopped cold in your tracks and whipped your head to take in the scene. The man was leaning over the counter with a dark, deadly look, and Lucia was clutching Sky to her chest protectively. The little skeleton watched the man fearfully from between her fingers, sparkling little magic spots pooling in his sockets. 

Oh _hell_ no. You weren't about to let that prick make Sky cry. Your Mom Friend instinct kicked in full throttle as you marched over back to the counter, trailing your busted ass cart behind you. The man only gave you a quick glance before turning back to glare at little Sky. “ I don't care how _woke_ you are or whatever girlie, but you better stay out of this if you know what's good for you.” 

Oh _hell_ no.

“Hey! Asshole! Go pick on someone your own size!”

_That_ got his attention. your harsh, sharp tone was just enough to turn his leer from them to you. “Don't tell me what to do, bitch! And _stay out of this_!” 

You tried not to outwardly flinch as he raised his voice to a shout. In your adrenaline fueled outburst, you didn't consider how terrifying it would be to have a grown man yell in your face. You swallowed your fear and made your best attempt to stare him down without automatically avoiding his cold eyes. 

“ _No.”_

Your prolonged defiance only seemed to fuel his rage further, and he quickly grew red in the face. if this were one of those old cartoons, he probably would have steam pouring out his ears. The comical thought the mental image gave you was a welcomed but brief interruption to the things he began to scream at you. You stood there and let him say his stupid piece about how _he was a tax-paying citizen_ and that _his family helped build this country_ , or something like that. Honestly, you were really too concerned about the lump growing thick in your throat and the tears burning hot behind your eyes. The only thing that kept you from bawling as he screamed was the thought that he was at least screaming at you and not Luce or Sky. They had done nothing but be happy in each other's company in their own store.

You glanced at them to try to motivate yourself to endure. 

.....

Realization. 

  
  
  


They were grinning.

You didn’t hesitate to grin back, feeling almost giddy.

The male Karen stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded and almost nervous at the wide, devious smile that had stretched your lips so wide it made your cheeks ache. 

Now blessedly silent, he followed your line of sight to Lucia and her sleek black cellphone. 

  
  


_“Uh oh.”_

.....

You couldn’t stop yourself from making a silly little peace sign, just to make the video better. 

Her grin was bright and mischievous as she held the phone with one hand and used her fingers to zoom in on his face. Sky was reclining on her shoulder, positively beaming at the poor bastard. He gave the man an exaggerated wave. “WHY HELLO! PLEASE CONTINUE, DON’T LET US STOP YOU! I BELIEVE YOU WERE SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT THE DELUSIONAL YOUTH. PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS”, Sky’s smile turned poisonously sweet, “ _CONTINUE.”_

The racist turned white as a sheet. His wrinkled, haggard skin was practically the color of a corpse. “Y-you can’t record me! That’s illegal! I-I’ll call the cops!”

Using her sweetest customer service voice, Luce smoothly answered. “Actually, _sir,_ it’s completely legal. This is our place of business, and it’s private property, so we get to decide that. Not you. And I’m sure the entire town would _love_ to see you making a fool out of yourself _and_ verbally assaulting someone who called you out for being racist.”

He sputtered, backing away from the camera. “You can’t..I’ll...Just wait until my lawyer hears about this!!”

With that final scream, he turned and quickly hurried out of the store’s front doors, leaving his full cart behind in favor of a quick escape. You finally exhaled the breath that had subconsciously been held trapped in your lungs. Feeling exhausted, you shuffled forward to slump yourself onto Lucia’s counter. 

As soon as she finished tucking her phone in her shop apron’s pocket, she squealed. “Oh my _god,_ that was so kickass!! You looked so cool!! He was screaming in your face and everything and you didn’t even flinch!!”

You just groaned in response, your body feeling like jelly after that terrifying ordeal. “I’m just glad I didn't cry,” you mumbled. “At least I looked cool, right?” 

Sky’s little shoes gave a small tap as he jumped from Lucia’s shoulder to the counter in front of your face. His starry little eyes were so bright, they were practically flashlights. “OH, THE COOLEST! YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE IN THE VIDEO, YOU WERE SO DETERMINED! LUCIA MY DEAR, YOU’VE GOT TO SEND HER THE VIDEO, SHE’LL LOVE IT! JUST LIKE A SUPERHERO!!”

Luce laughed as she leaned over the other side of the counter, scrounging around for something. “Oh for sure! I can’t wait to post this somewhere, Papi is gonna rip that guy a new one!”

She nudged you in the forehead with a fancy candy bar. “Here,” she encouraged, “on the house. I’m sure you’ll get a hero’s discount next time you come in once I show the video to Papi, but I can at least do this for now. Seriously. I deadass would have cried if that asshole yelled at me like that. We really owe you one.”

Sky nodded in agreement. “THAT WE MOST CERTAINLY DO.”

You gratefully accepted the candy bar, rising off the counter. “Thank you”, you murmured softly. 

She waved you off. “No big deal. Go home and take a nap or something, okay? You look like you’re gonna fall over.”

The leaden feeling in your limbs seemed to agree wholeheartedly with her. You were going to prep the library’s wall for the mural, but you weren’t going to get anything done like this. Maybe it was really better to go home and get some rest..

“Alright, alright, I’ll go and rest. Take care of yourselves, okay? I’d hate to think of that guy coming back or something.”

She giggled. “Nah, I don’t think he’ll come back. I bet he pissed himself when he saw my camera!”

You gave her a tired smile, and she waved you off as you took your cart to the parking lot, feeling tired but proud of yourself. 

\------

_His eyes followed the human as they left the store, their shoulders slumped. Their soul shone brightly, and swirled with a miasma of different hues and traits._

_Justice._

_Integrity._

_Courage._

_Kindness._

_Perseverance._

_Patience._

_Determination._

_Their soul pulsed steadily, surrounded in a thick fog of brilliant colored light. Even from this far, its warmth still reached him. The colors were mesmerizing to watch, impossible to look away from. The world seemed dull in comparison, leeching away to pathetic gray._

_He could live his whole life sustained off that one soul. He could die from it too, if he wasn’t careful._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_He followed._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Someone really likes color, huh?
> 
> Comments brighten my day and keep me writing, don't be shy!


End file.
